Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is one of my favorite bands. And with this video I can continue to see why. Good friends of ours, Pol & Michelle Buckingham, helped make this video.

Coffee House Event at Tricia's Espresso

Join us at Tricia's Espresso for a Coffee House Event featuring live local musicians. This is being sponsored by the Outreach/Missions Committee at Warren's Grove. Tricia's Espresso is at 43 Abbitt St. in uptown Roxboro. This is a great event to invite friends and neighbors, and those who are turned off by the church. This will be a safe place to hang-out and enjoy a good latte, iced coffee, cappuccino, or espresso. All are invited!

Jeremiah 8.18 - 9.1

This coming Sunday I will be preaching from Jeremiah 8.18 - 9.1. One verse that sticks out to me at first glance is 9.1, where the prophet says: "O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!" I wish that we all were like this ----- where we have cried and wept for the people of our communities. And we have done that for so long that we have run out of tears. Oh, if we were to have broken hearts ---- like God's broken heart over the indifference, the devastation, the murders, the losses, the grief, the hypocrisy........ Here the prophet is grieving over the situation and place the people are in ----- specifically the "slain poor people". What would the church look like if there were people that wept day and night?

A Monk's Meal

Last night we had a Monk's Meal at home. It was a tomato based soup with carrots, celery and lentils. This was served with dried toast. This was part of my children's education for the day. They learned that Monks in a certain area of Britain do not consume any thing from four legged animals. So they could not have butter on the bread. Also, you are to eat in silence while listening to the holy scriptures being read. So we popped in a tape of Revelation chapter 17 and ate in silence ----- which was a huge accomplishment for an 8 year old, 6 year old, 4 year old, and a 1 year old. Yes, even the one year old was silent for the entire meal. Monasticism ----- what will be next in our wonderful world of homeschooling?

What I have been reading

Now that I have not been in school I have been reading some interesting books. One in particular that I have been with for a long time ------ is a book by a man named Nicholas Lash. It is called Easter In Ordinary: Reflections on Human Experience and the Knowledge of God. One fascinating quote that he has that has caused me to want to finish this very thick book is: "I am almost inclined to say that philosophers have no expertise except disciplined attentiveness and somewhat suspicious curiosity. They may be industrious but theirs is a service industry. They conquer no new territories and fashion no new products. All that philosophers (and, I would argues, theologians) have to work on is other people's conversations." What do you all think he means by "disciplined attentiveness" and "suspicious curiosity"?

What does Jesus mean by hate?

In Luke 14.26 Jesus says: "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple." I thought Fred Craddock had an insightful comment on hate. Craddock says: "To hate is a Semitic expression meaning to turn away from, to detach oneself from." He said that at the time Jesus is saying hate it does not mean the same thing that we would mean by hate. We would think of hate as to loathe someone or something ----- here Jesus is saying that we are to make our priorities line up with our love and trust of God. This is a verse that has caused a great deal of angst ---- but in light of this view we are to make sure we do not put family / friends / self, before God.

Luke 14.25-33

This coming Sunday we will be focusing on Luke 14.25-33. This is oftentimes called "The Cost of Discipleship". One thing that has really stuck out to me are these phrases: in verse 28 it says "sit down and estimate the cost", and verse 31 says "sit down first and consider". There is something to be said about sitting, estimating, and considering. Are we taking the time to reflect in our daily lives? Are we actually looking at the grand perspective and asking what God would have us do? Or are we just doing things by impulse, and never considering to be intentional with using the time that God has given us? I think that these verses could easily be called "Counting the Cost of Discipleship". How do you count the cost?